Welcome

Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

The local health department would be a good start. If you are not HIV positive you should not be posting in the Living With HIV forum, it is for positive people and their loved ones only. Please read the welcome thread.

This is going to be complex, as you are new in the country, and do you even have a social security card yet? Do you have a green card or are you on a visa? What I would do is call the phone number from the website given by Dan, and ask them first, but they may not be familiar with situations like yours. I would call major associations in big cities like New York City that surely have seen this situation before.

You do not exist in the US if you do not have a social security number. Without insurance you will have to rely on charity. So call that number first, and let us know what they said.

I am not sure how much difference there is in cost ( depending on which lab is used. But, I posted this back in April. This was the cost of most of my usual blood tests that are done every three months. These were done through Quest diagnostics.

I am also not sure how much pricing may have changed since I posted this ;

Beginning this year ( January 01,07 --our company switched over from Cigna to Aetna. I just received a bill from Quest Diagnostics. Apparently , Aetna doesn't cover all of the cost of the 3 month blood tests.

I figured something like this was going to happen, But I am at least prepared. I wasn't quite sure what my out of pocket would be, until now.

Just to give an idea of the cost ; (these were my blood tests were done on Jan 11th.)

Amylase-------$46.22

Cholesterol---$31.75

Lipoprotein,direct,HDL-----$42.25

Triglycerides ----------------- $ 31.75

Prostate, specific AG--------$100.65 ( that was an expensive one)---once a year

CBC,PLT,DIFF--------$33.00

T- CELLS; ABS CD4 COUNT-----$192.46

Comprehen Metabolic panel-----$49.50

Virus -1 quant---------$ 279..50

Grand total-------$807.08

The amount I have to pay after after Aetna's share is ----- $183.19

I had a feeling that after we switched to Aetna, that I would have to be responsible for some of the costs. It still pays to have insurance. With Cigna, there was no charge for the blood test....

Those are the prices that, that according to Quest , are the charges made to the insurance company.

I beleive that if I didn't have insurance, those are the charges that I would have to pay. But, there could be a posssibility, that the charges could be higher. I wonder, if I were to call Quest and just ask them the cost of these tests,. without insurance, if they would give me that information. I don't see why they would not be able to supply me or anyone else with the costs of those test.

'The standard HIV PCR test for measuring viral load involves extracting the viral RNA in a known volume of blood, amplifying the RNA through several cycles of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, then separating and tagging the amplified genetic sequences for quantification. Basic equipment to perform PCR ranges around $20,000 and individual tests can cost about $100 apiece.

Ray,If you're looking at charges to the insurance company, they most certainly are lower than 'MSRP' - what an uninsured individual would be charged without the insurance company negotiating. I know my statement of benefits shows the list price (I forget what it's really called), the 'discount' (write-off) price the insurance company is charged, and how much my insurance paid. I believe labs cost my insurance $807 for all those tests. If I'm not mistaken, the discounted price is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the regular price. Fortunately, the State offers a BC/BS PPO to employees that covers all labs by Labcorp 100%... truly great coverage.

I was till now getting all my TESTS done in India--PCR and VL in one of the best TEST CENTERS available--Ranbaxy Laboratories. Tests are done only on the THURSDAYS and the report would be there on the Wednesday.

It was all costing me $180. Doctors Consultations in one of the BEST (ISO certified hospitals--american experienced doctors with their speciality in Infections,STD and HIV) was just $12.

Thjis is JUST for the INFO--i wanted to share it with friends in the FORUMS - -I think this is what is making INDIA #1 in Medical Tourism.

Well i am not sure what the cost is,as i live in Canada.here healthcare is covered by the GOV. & is free for everyone.Y not come up for a visit & get them done here??well its just a suggestion.I hope everything works out OK for you & yours,GODBLESS & have a good day eh!

You may want to be careful who you disclose your positive hiv status to - the US does NOT allow hiv positive people into the country (officially) unless you have a special dispensation visa in your passport. Even then, I believe it is only available for tourist visas.

In light of this, you may want to remove your phone number from your posts. Hit the modify button in the upper right side of your post and you can change it in the screen that comes up.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

You might also want to edit your previous posts so that your phone number doesn't appear in them. It's usually not a good idea to give out that kind of information on any website. Just a friendly "IT security" suggestion.